Hello Everyone,
Thanks to all of you who have traveled with me on this trip, and other trips that I have taken. I do appreciate it. I made it home safely. I did not enjoy the flight because a whiny 1 or 2 year old was sitting behind me. I was very tempted to turn around and tell the mother to put a muzzle on that child. I did ask the stewardess if there were any other available seats on the plane. The airlines really should have some flights designated for adults only, no children under 10. On a different note, this concludes this trip...

Hello everyone,
My trip is winding down. Tomorrow I head home, and I must say that I am ready. I won't get there until wee hours in the a.m. on Wednesday. I've had a great time here in Aruba, met a few nice people, but...ready to go. I've absorbed more foreign energy than I really care for, and the mosquitos have had a field day biting me. I have bites all over me, too many bites to count, seriously. I didn't think to buy bug spray before heading this way. I didn't think about buying any here until like yesterday, by that time, I said...

Hello again,
So after I made the earlier entry in the journal, I took a nap for a few hours, and then sat down for my chef prepared dinner. Today I requested a simple pasta dish. As previously mentioned, I had Gruber fish the first night, and had a bit of an allergic reaction to it. By the way, the chef's name is Graciela. Her husband's name is Phillip. The food is very tasty.
Angela

Hello everyone,
Today I did the island tour...they got the pick up location right this time. Again, it was hot and humid, but we were on an air conditioned bus, so that made the weather more tolerable. I met a few nice ladies who were from New York on the tour. I always meet people during a tour that I can kind of hang out with and chat with. It rained a bit, but by that time, the tour was over, we were on the bus being driven back to our prospective hotels/pick up locations. At least the tour guides here don't try to force things down your...

Hello Everyone,
Today my surrounding energy was a bit off. I was scheduled to do an Island tour today, the bus was supposed to pick me up in front of the Marriott because they don't pick up from private residences. Well, needless to say, that didn't happen. The guy who booked the tour told me to be in one place, and the driver went to another. That was quite annoying because that little mishap through my entire day off. I had to shift gears and find something else to do. We're going to try the island tour again tomorrow. Hopefully they have...

Hello everyone,
Today I did not get dressed until 2:00. I was just not in a hurry to get moving today. In addition, I think jetlag set in. I always have at least one of these type of days when I travel. When you travel alone, you can do that...get dressed anytime you like, or not get dressed at all that day. On a different note, there is a guy who lives across the street, somewhat of a peeping tom. As it is quite hot and humid, I usually keep the front and side doors open. The house has an air conditioner and ceiling fans, but sometimes it...

Hello Everyone,
Today is my first full day here in Aruba. The weather is hot and humid, about 90 degrees. The rental car company dropped off my car this morning and I drove around the place like I knew where I was going...without using a map mind you. Aruba is a small island, so you can't really get lost, a bit mixed up, but not lost. I had lunch at Wendys, went by the grocery store to buy a few things, and bought most of the souvenirs/post cards. I like to get the souvenir/postcard shopping out the way the first day or two. On a different...

Hello everyone,
I made it safely to Aruba. It is quite hot and humid here. It was 93 degrees when I got off of the plane. As I mentioned in my previous entry, I had a 5 hour layover between flights. The owner of the house that I am renting, picked me up from the airport, and as of this writing, his wife, who is the chef is preparing dinner now. They have a restaurant next door to the house that I am renting. I went to the neighborhood market, just so that I could have something to snack on until I go to the grocery store tomorrow. I will...

Hello everyone,
Right now I am still in my pjs, thinking about the few last things that I need to do before I leave. Later today I will be heading for the airport to start my travels to Aruba. I have a 5 hour layover between connecting flights...Ugh! That's not bad considering some of the layover times. I will watch a movie or two, or maybe consider hanging out in the lounge rubbing elbows with the business travelers, and the ritzy, ditzy travelers, who think that they are too good to sit in the general area of the airport. I've done the...

We arrived in Aruba around 6:30 am and some left the ship as early as 7:30 am. Aruba is located in the southern Caribbean and lies north of Venezuela and east of Colombia. The weather in Aruba is mostly warm, dry, and sunny. Due to a tropical marine climate, temperatures remain stable around a pleasant 82 degrees and today did not disappoint, although an afternoon shower did come up shortly after we left the port. Aruba lies outside of the hurricane belt, so the weather is almost always wonderful. In 1986 Aruba became its own country,...

In Aruba we decided to go on a snorkeling trip. We went on a catamaran and stopped at two locations to snorkel. The first stop had fish but not much in the area of coral. The second stop was over a wreck that was a scuttled ship in the Second World War so that the Germans would not get it. It had fish, and the view of the ship was incredible. Visibility was around 100 feet so we could see the entire ship. After the snorkeling, they served rum punch. The were very liberal with the rum. Enough said.

As we head south to Aruba I took a few shots of the ship to show some of the public spaces. The dining area shown (the Lido), we mostly use for breakfast when we do not want to go to the formal dining room to be served.
The trip ashore in Aruba was brief but pleasant except for the 88 degree temperature. We had no trip booked but with another couple hired a mini van driver to take us around to the high spots of the island, which are few. We stopped at The Casibar rock formation and climbed up the stone steps for a view of the area, then on...